Thursday, July 30, 2009

Remember these?

I have been on a Goodwill kick lately...as in today I visited 3 different locations. If you know me, you know that when I get something in my head I can become a little obsessive. I've been on the hunt for old Tupperware--you know the kind our moms had when we were growing up that came in lovely shades of orange and green? They just don't make it like that anymore! Anyway, Max found some Goodwill treasures too. This Lite-Brite has already provided hours of entertainment. He also found a little skateboard that is super cute and "totally" matches his skater boy haircut. (I promise I won't let him hang out in the Wal-mart parking lot with the other skater boys!)

There is something about toys like this that give me the "warm fuzzies" and remind me of when I was a little girl.

I love that they make you think and allow for creativity.

There is, however, a design flaw. When turned the correct way (as pictured) the pegs fall out and, in Max's words, "ruin everything"!

After several wig-out sessions, we overcame this flaw by turning the cube on it's side--worked like a charm!
Thank you, Lite-Brite, for giving me a few hours of peace and quiet!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

What I've Been Up to...

I've spent the past two days organizing and cleaning my kitchen and I had to take pictures because it may be a while before it looks like this again (it also gave me a chance to play with my new camera)! So here we go with a tour of my newly organized kitchen...

This is the view of the kitchen from the dining room:



We moved into our house a little over a year ago and

I think the builder did a great job designing the kitchen.


The appliances are nice and there is tons of storage.


Marcos installed the back splash and I painted--other than that

everything is exactly the same as the day we moved in.


Do I like my kitchen? Yes...Is it my dream kitchen? No...

If I had it my way, I would have all of the cabinets painted white, use subway tile for the back splash and replace the granite with marble...My husband thought that I was joking when I mentioned this. My dream kitchen would look something like this:



People (Marcos) say that I need to live in reality, so I have come up with some ideas of how to turn my "real kitchen" into my "dream kitchen" (without painting the cabinets).

First, I will make roman shades out of this fabric (I think):



Tell me what you think because I hope to order it soon.

I also want to replace the pendents with something like these and
the bar stools with something like this :




(I am in love with these stools.)

My Kitchen "To Do" List:
1. Order fabric and make shades.
2. Touch up wall paint.
3. Paint another coat on trim.
4. Sale "stuff" on Craig's List to buy the above mentioned stools.

Marcos' Kitchen "Honey Do" List:

1. Cough up the $$ to buy my new lights.
2. Install my new lights.
3. Fix the grout on HIS back splash.

OK, my mind has wondered on to what needs to be done,
let's get back to what has already been done...My organization:


We don't have a traditional pantry so all of out food has to be stored in cabinets. With some baskets and a little creativity we've made it work for us.



I've cleaned up onion peals one too many times, so I decided to line the bottom of the wire basket that holds the onions and potatoes with tin foil...my broom thanks me.


This is one of the sights in my kitchen that makes me smile. It's an old cracker tin that belonged to my grandmother--every time I see it I think of her.


The cabinet to the left of the stove houses all of the baking goods...



The one to the right houses all of the spices. (This is the one that needed the most help!)



Under the sink:




I mentioned that we have a lot of storage in our kitchen, therefore,
some "non-kitchen" items are stored in there.

Max's art supplies--I learned very quickly NOT to store these in his bedroom! Yellow paint on the sheets and quilt, anyone?


My vases waiting on freshly cut flowers from my garden (yea, right!).


Medicine (I'm blaming the Benefiber in my mom)

WOW, what a long post! I'll leave you with some details of the kitchen. Please let me know what you think of the fabric and stools.

Monday, July 27, 2009

My Abandoned Sewing Machine and New Camera

Sorry I have been away so long...

Not only have I abandoned my 3 followers, but I have also abandoned my sewing machine...



and the fabric intended for the hallway shades...


and the office!

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed these days...I have started (and not completed) a few too many projects. I have sooo much to do and the summer is almost over:-(! Just a few things still on my to do list: finish the office, paint, paint, paint, finish the Roman shades for the office and hall, hang the shades in the guest room, learn how to work my new camera--I guess I need to do laundry and go to the grocery store too! Summer, please slow down!

I did get a new camera...

Isn't she pretty?!



Thanks, Amanda, for the advice!

Hopefully I will post some progress tomorrow...

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Something I Want to Remember...

Max is four and as much as I try to remember all the cute and funny things that he says and does I often forget. Among many other things, I hope that this blog will serve as a quick and easy way for me to document those special little things that my little man does and says.


Photo unrelated, but cute! 2/14/2009


One of Max's favorite adjectives is "spicy". In "Max's Dictionary" spicy has several different definitions--none of which Webster would consider accurate.
His definition reads something like this:

spic-y
-adjective, spicier, spiciest
1. having or giving off heat; having a high temperature: this mac-n-cheese is spicy
2. having a fine point: those scissors are spicy
3. having a point or points: that porcupine is spicy
4. rhythmic: Michael Jackson's music is spicy

Because of Max "spicy" will always be one of my favorite words.
I hope to have Roman shades to share with you tomorrow!
Good night!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Office Redo-Sneak Peek

I spent the entire day yesterday listing a bunch of stuff on Craig's List--hoping to get things cleaned out and organized (and maybe make a little $$ in the process)! I'm not sure if I was really motivated to get the stuff listed or if it was another tactic that I used to put off completing the office redo. If I don't finish soon my husband is seriously going to kill me. He told me (in a Brazilian accent), "Cooley, I want my office back!". I better get on it! What's his problem? At least he has a finished bathroom! I enjoy painting (strange, I know) and I think I have become pretty good at it. However, I am VERY slow--it drives Marcos crazy. He says I don't need to spend so much time on the details, again in a Brazilian accent! Anyway, I do have plans to finish the office just as soon as I finish listing all this stuff on Craig's List. In the meantime, I am going to walk you through the before pictures and give you a little taste of what is to come by showing the office bathroom afters. Here we go...

This is Marcos' attempt at decorating his office. He loves his office and I have to admit that this one is much better than the office we had at our last house. It seems like all the left over furniture gets put in the office--thankfully we needed more furniture in out last house than in this one so we were able to use some of the "good stuff" in the office this time. The desk is Pottery Barn--Marcos bought it from a client a few years ago for a great price. It needs to be cleaned up, but over all it is nice. My mom gave him the black office chair for Christmas. Don't even get me started on those curtains (Marcos loves them? But I have a great solution and I've already hidden the curtains so Marcos won't put them back up when I'm not home!)


My husband is a landscape designer and a very talented artist. His drawing desk serves its purpose, but the chair needs some help. The brown chair is also Pottery Barn and was purchased from the same client that Marcos bought the desk from. Marcos painted the canvas above his drawing table right after we got married and it is not my style (I like his drawings better than is paintings!), but there are some things you just don't mess with.

The large white buffet was in the formal living room at our old house and now serves a more useful purpose as book and office supply storage. The men on top are another thing that I know not to mess with. I will blame the clutter on the desk on my wonderful husband!


This black CD case is very useful and holds all of Marcos' CD cases--the CD's are all in CD holders? Men! The black chest was made by my grandfather and has been painted about a million times! The rug is also a transplant from our old house and needs a good cleaning.

This is the forgotten bathroom (as in it is upstairs and I often forget to clean it--scary!). I have plans to use Marcos' drawings to make this the "sexy" bathroom in the house.

The white shelf is from Max's nursery and the antique tools belonged to my grandfather--they will both stay.



This bathroom housed a mixture of items that we didn't have another place to put.

Now for the bathroom reveal...


The view from the office door:



Wall Paint: Valspar Satin color matched to Sherwin Williams Color--Steely Gray (I stole from Melissa)



Trim Paint: Behr High Gloss--Popped Corn




The details...



I hung the towel rods and toilet paper holder myself!


My grandfather's antique tools.

Personal touches:

Marcos' "sexy" drawings!

Built-in Shelves

I went with the "tool theme" and put all of our home repair books on the shelves.


I made the shower curtain out of a queen sheet set that I found on clearance at Target ($20 for the whole set!). The fuzzy rug came from TJ Maxx.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. If you have any ideas about what may need to be changed/added please leave a comment! Now I have to finish my Craig's List listings so that I can complete that darn office!